should, would, might, could, must

[Fractal]

shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx

[crick]

I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).

will and would: will is used to show certainity in future (as opposed to can/could/would). would is used as conditional and sometimes just as past tense of will (If x happened, Y would happen).

can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).

Crick

[Jim@Grockit]

I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).

I don't think this is entirely true. "Shall" is the more traditional first person auxiliary verb (singular and plural) for the future tense; most people use "will" now in all persons and numbers, and I would expect the GMAT to do the same, except perhaps in a RC passage. "Shall" is also used for obligation in the second and third persons.

"Should" definitely appears in potential/hypothetical conditions (If you should find yourself stranded, call me) in addition to expressions of obligation.

can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).

"Could" is also the past tense of "can."

[Fractal]

shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx

so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot

[aspirant2011]

shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx

so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?

Nopes according to me it's incorrect because with subjunctive verb [were] over here one shouldn't use should

e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?

If I go to the station, I may get a ticket is the correct one. Might is used for past tense

e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

If I go to the bus an hour earlier, I can/may get at the airport on time

If I had gone to the bus earlier, I could have/might have got at the airport on time

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot

[mundasingh123]

I have some idea about the following:

shall and should : never saw a shall in a GMAT SC question. should is only used to indicate "moral obligation". (The court should pass the law).

will and would: will is used to show certainity in future (as opposed to can/could/would). would is used as conditional and sometimes just as past tense of will (If x happened, Y would happen).

can and could: can/could is used to show probability(as opposed to certainity by will).

Crick

Can is used to show ability . Could shows possibility

[Jim@Grockit]

shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx

so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot

You cannot use all those words interchangeably without altering the sense of the sentence, and some of the combinations are not correct. Is that what you are asking?

[Fractal]

shall and should
will and would
may and might
can and could
mote and must

can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?`

e.g. if i were you, i should/would/might/could/must....

thx

so what does this mean? can should, would, might, could and must be used changeable in "if-then-clauses"?

e.g. if i were you, i should be more polite to this guy - correct?
e.g. if i go to the station, i might get a ticket - correct?
e.g. if i went to the bus on hour earlier, i could get at the airport on time - correct?

could an expert explain this issue?

thx a lot

You cannot use all those words interchangeably without altering the sense of the sentence, and some of the combinations are not correct. Is that what you are asking?

i know that it alters the meaning of the sentence, but don't really know which expressions are correct and which are incorrect....

[Fractal]

I just read in MG:

Do not use SHOULD anywhere in an "If...then" sentence

I still hope that anybody can give more such rules to clarify....

[vk_vinayak]

I do not agree that we should not use Should in If ... then clause.

Eg: If you score less than 600 in GMAT, you should retake the exam.

Is it not a correct construction?

One more question: Can we use the word 'can' in if clause, as in "If you can solve the problem, I will consider you for the job".